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By Jim Callis
February 28, 2011

We unveiled our 21st annual Top 100 Prospects list last week, prompting several questions about how close various players were to making it. I'll delve into a couple of those in a moment.

The first step in our Top 100 process is for BA's editors to compile their personal rankings of the 150 best prospects, then combine them all on a spreadsheet and let the discussion flow from there. In addition to the players who made the Top 100, another 93 prospects received votes on at least one of our six Top 150 lists. Below is an alphabetical list of all those players, along with how many ballots they appeared on and their highest ranking.

Ten players who didn't crack the Top 100 did get mentioned on all six ballots: Rangers outfielder Engel Beltre, Royals righthander Aaron Crow, Padres outfielder Reymond Fuentes, Reds catcher Yasmani Grandal, Mets righthander Matt Harvey, Giants outfielder Francisco Peguero, Reds outfielder Yorman Rodriguez, Dodgers outfielder/first baseman Jerry Sands, Blue Jays righthander Zach Stewart and Angels righthander Jordan Walden. The five highest individual rankings on any single ballot belong to Astros outfielder/second baseman Delino DeShields Jr. (No. 54), Diamondbacks shortstop Chris Owings (No. 55), Rockies lefthander Christian Friedrich (No. 58), Phillies righthander Trevor May (No. 58) and Marlins lefthander Chad James (No. 62).  

Player, Pos, Team	Top 150s	Peak
Jason Adam, rhp, Royals	2	116
Oswaldo Arcia, of, Twins	1	140
J.P. Arencibia, c, Blue Jays	5	94
Xavier Avery, of, Orioles	1	149
Brandon Beachy, rhp, Braves	4	103
Engel Beltre, of, Rangers	6	109
Jesse Biddle, lhp, Phillies	2	119
Rex Brothers, lhp, Rockies	4	103
Gary Brown, of, Giants	4	96
Chris Carpenter, rhp, Cubs	1	124
Michael Choice, of, Athletics	5	76
A.J. Cole, rhp, Nationals	4	100
Tim Collins, lhp, Royals	1	144
Alex Colome, rhp, Rays	2	116
Hank Conger, c, Angels	5	85
Kaleb Cowart, 3b, Angels	5	104
Zack Cozart, ss, Reds	1	111
Aaron Crow, rhp, Royals	6	80
Jaff Decker, of, Padres	4	100
Delino DeShields Jr., of/2b, Astros	5	54
Rafael Dolis, rhp, Cubs	1	147
Felix Doubront, lhp, Red Sox	2	123
Brett Eibner, of, Royals	5	115
Robbie Erlin, lhp, Rangers	5	83
Eduardo Escobar, ss, White Sox	1	139
Daniel Fields, of, Tigers	1	129
Mike Foltynewicz, rhp, Astros	1	131
Todd Frazier, of/3b/1b, Reds	3	97
Christian Friedrich, lhp, Rockies	5	58
Reymond Fuentes, of, Padres	6	104
Anthony Gose, of, Blue Jays	5	84
Yasmani Grandal, c, Reds	6	82
Matt Harvey, rhp, Mets	6	66
Reese Havens, 2b, Mets	1	104
Slade Heathcott, of, Yankees	2	133
Liam Hendriks, rhp, Twins	1	120
Luis Heredia, rhp, Pirates	1	125
Chad James, lhp, Marlins	5	62
Jiwan James, of, Phillies	3	112
Kenley Jansen, rhp, Dodgers	2	132
Jeremy Jeffress, rhp, Royals	4	104
Tyrell Jenkins, rhp, Cardinals	3	121
Michael Kirkman, lhp, Rangers	2	137
Jason Knapp, rhp, Indians	5	92
Marc Krauss, of, Diamondbacks	1	98
Matt Lipka, ss, Braves	5	70
Cory Luebke, lhp, Padres	3	125
Jhan Marinez, rhp, Marlins	1	150
Starling Marte, of, Pirates	5	102
Ethan Martin, rhp, Dodgers	1	130
Carlos Martinez, rhp, Cardinals	4	93
Fabio Martinez, rhp, Angels	1	149
Francisco Martinez, 3b, Tigers	1	126
Trevor May, rhp, Phillies	5	58
Jared Mitchell, of, White Sox	4	77
Bryan Morris, rhp, Pirates	2	131
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, of, Mets	2	116
Tsuyoshi Nishioka, 2b/ss, Twins	4	90
Hector Noesi, rhp, Yankees	4	92
Eduardo Nunez, ss/3b, Yankees	4	109
Chris Owings, ss, Diamondbacks	3	55
Kyle Parker, of, Rockies	1	137
Francisco Peguero, of, Giants	6	109
Carlos Perez, c, Blue Jays	2	121
Guillermo Pimentel, of, Mariners	3	124
Josh Reddick, of, Red Sox	2	117
Ben Revere, of, Twins	5	85
Garrett Richards, rhp, Angels	1	148
Trayvon Robinson, of, Dodgers	4	96
Mauricio Robles, lhp, Mariners	2	119
Yorman Rodriguez, of, Reds	6	92
Mark Rogers, rhp, Brewers	5	83
Tyson Ross, rhp, Athletics	1	131
Adrian Salcedo, rhp, Twins	1	132
Jerry Sands, of/1b, Dodgers	6	83
Domingo Santana, of, Phillies	1	129
Max Stassi, c, Athletics	1	138
Zach Stewart, rhp, Blue Jays	6	74
Matt Szczur, of, Cubs	2	117
Peter Tago, rhp, Rockies	2	127
Alex Torres, lhp, Rays	5	90
Sebastian Valle, c, Phillies	4	65
Yordano Ventura, rhp, Royals	2	117
Dayan Viciedo, 1b/3b, White Sox	4	91
Josh Vitters, 3b, Cubs	5	95
Jordan Walden, rhp, Angels	6	76
Taijuan Walker, rhp, Mariners	3	80
Allen Webster, rhp, Dodgers	4	86
Nick Weglarz, of, Indians	5	84
Alex Wimmers, rhp, Twins	5	107
Chris Withrow, rhp, Dodgers	5	83
Asher Wojciechowski, rhp, Blue Jays	3	135
Christian Yelich, of, Marlins	5	87

 

Who has the better catching prospects, the Blue Jays or the Yankees?

Michael Nath
Toronto

Michael originally proposed this question via my Twitter account (@jimcallisBA), and his query drew follow-ups such as how New York would stack up if Jesus Montero weren't considered a catcher and how the Reds compare to the Blue Jays and Yankees. Let's tackle all three.

New York has the best group of catching prospects in baseball. Montero (No. 3) and Gary Sanchez (No. 30) are the two highest-ranked catchers on our Top 100 Prospects list, and Austin Romine also checks in at No. 98. J.R. Murphy has an interesting bat though he probably will have to move from behind the plate, and Kyle Higashioka offers promising power and arm strength.

I like that collection of catchers a little more than Toronto's. The Blue Jays contingent is led by Travis d'Arnaud (No. 36 on the Top 100), J.P. Arencibia (the Triple-A Pacific Coast League MVP last year) and Carlos Perez (the top prospect in the short-season New York-Penn League in 2010). A.J. Jimenez and Brian Jeroloman are decent sleepers, too.

Even without Montero, who probably won't be a long-term big league catcher, I'd still give a slight edge to the Yankees. Sanchez and d'Arnaud are comparable prospects, and while I'm not a big fan of Romine, I prefer him to Arencibia. If Perez continues to develop, he could tilt the scale in favor of the Blue Jays.

The Reds have an impressive catching tandem in Devin Mesoraco (No. 64) and Yasmani Grandal (the 12th overall pick in the 2010 draft and a near-miss for the Top 100), but their depth behind those two doesn't compare to that of the Yankees or Blue Jays. Three other teams that are well-stocked with catchers are the Rockies (Wilin Rosario, Will Swanner, Jordan Pacheco, Michael McKenry), Rays (Justin O'Conner, Robinson Chirinos, Luke Bailey, Steven Vogt, Jake DePew, Nevin Ashley) and Athletics (Max Stassi, Josh Donaldson, Ryan Ortiz).

If the Nationals had kept Bryce Harper behind the plate, they'd have the best catching prospects in the game. As it is, they still have a pair of Top 100 Prospect backstops in Derek Norris (No. 72) and Wilson Ramos (No. 96).  

In last week's Ask BA, you named six players that you believe will boost their stock the most in 2012 after missing the Top 100 Prospects list. I was surprised you didn't mention Indians righthander Jason Knapp. I understand that shoulder injuries have held him back, but if he stays healthy for a full year and pitches like he did at the end of last summer, I would think he would rank in the Top 20. Does he truly have ace potential, or am I just praying that Cleveland has something to show from the Cliff Lee trade? What do you see for Knapp if he stays healthy in 2011?

Brian Meyer
Toledo

I considered Knapp for that list, but I wanted to limit myself to a half-dozen prospects and do have some reservations about his health. He has pitched just 40 innings since the Indians acquired him in the Lee deal in July 2009. He had arthroscopic shoulder surgery after the 2009 season and didn't return to the mound until last July.

No question, if healthy, Knapp could rocket up next year's Top 100. He has a mid-90s fastball and a plus curveball. At the same time, he is still raw, needs more consistency and command, and has to prove he can hold up over a full season. He's just 21 and his career could go in several directions. If everything comes together, he could be a frontline starter. It's also possible that he could be best suited for the bullpen in the long run.  

Did Diamondbacks third baseman Bobby Borchering or Nationals outfielder Eury Perez receive any consideration for the Top 100 Prospects list? Will they move up to high Class A in 2011, and do they have a good shot at the Top 100 next year?

Donald R. Dyer
Huber Heights, Ohio

Neither Borchering nor Perez received a single vote on any of our six personal Top 150 lists, but both are young prospects who could easily make next year's Top 100 Prospects if they show more polish. I do expect that both will spend most, if not all, of this season in high Class A.

The 16th overall pick in the 2009 draft, Borchering has impressive raw power but needs to smooth out the rest of his game. He did a better job of recognizing pitches and using the entire field toward the end of his first full pro season, though he may not be able to stick at third base.

Perez also got off to a slow start and finished strong in 2010. He won't hit for much power, but he should produce for average and steal plenty of bases with his well above-average speed. He also should develop into a good center fielder.  

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